Tottenham have escaped with a barely deserved draw but at a heavy cost. The night began with Aaron Lennon going off with a hamstring injury and ended with Gareth Bale being taken off on a stretcher after twisting his right ankle, while William Gallas also limped off. Who knows how bad that will be? Spurs will pray the pain doesn't last. Without him, they are not the same side. Though they weren't much of a side tonight. Basel totally outclassed them but lost their two-goal lead after conceding two fairly unfortunate goals - they've only themselves to blame though, because they missed a host of chances. They were very good, mind you, especially Stocker and Salah. Tottenham have it all to do in the second leg in Switzerland next week. Thanks for reading and emailing.

84 min: This is a 2-2 thrashing. Stocker's brilliant touch seems to have bought him that crucial yard in the area but last-ditch defending denies him. He keeps possession though and throws the Spurs defence off the scent with a backheel. El Nenny sends his shot wildly over from 20 yards. Up the other end, Dempsey loops an ambitious volley miles wide. Meanwhile that's the end of Salah's night - he's replaced by David Degen.

78 min: William Gallas could easily have gone here. He was penalised for a tangle with Zoua as the substitute tried to break through. I suppose the referee thought it was accidental - but illegal - and opted not to give Gallas a second yellow card. The free-kick is cleared.

77 min: Another chance for Basel goes begging. On the right Steinhofer easily beats Vertonghen, who looks a fish out of water at left-back. He cuts it back to the substitute Zoua. Eight yards from goal, he skews his finish horribly wide. Tottenham have been let off the hook again.

76 min: "I notice you haven't been mentioning Bale that much tonight," says Brenden. "Is he worn out after having to deal with Easter and all the horrible memories that must bring up for him from his previous life 2013 years ago, or is ABV realising what 'Arry started to as well, and he shouldn't play in the middle? I'm only going by the MBM that he's playing in the middle."

74 min: Tottenham are getting hemmed in here. Salah goes past Parker as if he isn't there and then sees his shot blocked by Dawson. There's a shout for handball but the referee waves Basel's appeals for a penalty away.

69 min: It's quietened down in the last few minutes. This will undoubtedly be a better result for Basel, even though they should be winning. "I understand this is a random observation but do you have to have a side part 1940s hairstyle to be picked by AVB?" says Keith Tucker. "Parker, vertonghen , Bale, Dawson, Holtby."

64 min: Parker is booked after bringing down Salah following another lightning run from the Egyptian, who appears to be a very good player indeed. Basel have a free-kick around 30 yards out in a central position.

63 min: Neat passing between Parker and Sigurdsson opens it up for Holtby, but his low left-footer from the edge of the area goes wide. It might have touched Adebayor too. That's Holtby's last contribution. Clint Dempsey is on.

60 min: This is an awful miss from Salah after a terrible mistake from Vertonghen. He sold Dawson shot with a woefully underhit pass and the speedy Salah stole in. He poked it around Dawson and raced off into the distance, only to send the ball over the bar with his left foot with only Friedel to beat.

GOAL! Tottenham 2-2 Basel (Sigurdsson, 58 min)

From 2-0 down, Tottenham haul themselves level and this tie is on! Sigurdsson cuts in from the left, on to his right foot, and his shot from 25 yards out takes a crucial deflection off Dragovic and leaves Sommer totally wrong-footed. It wasn't great defending from Dragovic, who turned his back on the ball. Spurs don't deserve this, but there you go.

56 min: What an effort from Naughton! He chests a loose ball down and then spanks a shot from 25 yards out that fizzes and swerves through the air. Sommer, though, dives to his left to parry it away and then grab the ball at the second attempt.

55 min: Spurs are hanging on a tad here. On the right, Salah isolates Vertonghen and speeds past him, leaving him for dead. He storms into the area but Friedel saves with his feet and eventually Basel concede a free-kick to give Spurs some respite. Tottenham's defending has been horrendous tonight.

53 min: At times, Spurs are chasing shadows. Basel tiki-taka it between themselves outside the Spurs area, eventually working Stocker into a shooting position on the edge of the area. Vertonghen charges it down.

51 min: "I’m one of the probably many who doubted Gary Naylor but it looks like what he said was true," says Glyn Thomas. "And not only is it about Franz Kafka, it has audience participation and is “site specific”. My heart bleeds for him, it truly does."

49 min: Holtby slams an ambitious effort way over from the right. "Dial back the hate for Scotty (Scott) Parker a little," says Javier Scheidt, who goes on to reveal that he is actually three years old. So we should all be impressed with his keen typing skills at such a tender age. "Just because he joined a real London team with ambition doesn't mean he didn't serve well for West Ham. Bitter much?"

47 min: Basel are instantly on the front-foot, looking to restore their two-goal lead. Salah jinks into the area from the right but he's halted by a well-timed challenge from Assou-Ekotto. Spurs try to counter but Frei slows them down with a cynical tug. He's booked.

46 min: And off we go again. Basel get the second half underway. "I one played in a football team called the Stonecutters," says Kane Murdoch. "There was some dark pre and post- match rituals I tell you."

"For me it's when the germans buy the power plant in 'Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk'," says Brenden. "Mr Burns: 'What good is money if it can't inspire terror in your fellow man.' Or 'Lisa's Rival' where Homer also starts selling sugar as well. His rant against the bluenoses is wonderful. I'm having a 'Fiver' day, so I can't be bothered looking for the clips. It's 0320 here in Perth, Australia."

"Surprised no-one has emailed to say AVB bares an uncanny resemblance to Hank Scorpio in the aforementioned 'You Only Move Twice' episode," says George Allighan. "Homer's Enemy with Frank Grimes get my vote of best episode ever, but anything from seasons 6-8 could get that vote."

"I could spend pretty much the rest of my life making suggestions for this riff," says Hugh Collins. "But since we're pushed for time: blood for cream!"

"EVERYONE knows that the Chili Pepper episode ("El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer") is the best," says Dylan M. "Homer dances in anticipation of eating chili, Homer pours candle wax in his mouth to digest Guatemalan insanity peppers, Homer has a hallucination featuring a space coyote voiced by Johnny Cash, and all of Springfield puts on hot pants at the end and dances to the Royal Teens 1957 hit "Short Shorts"!"

"Surely the best episode is Ribwich if only for the moment when someone asks Krusty if the Ribwich is made of pig and he says, “Think smaller… and more legs.” Come to think of it, the Tomacco episode was great too…" There's Michael Kruse's offering.

"I was resisting chipping in with my two cents about the Simpsons but surely the most relevant Simpsons scene to quote would the the 'soccer scene' from the Cartridge Family where Kent Brockman is lazily commentating about the reserved passing of one of the teams: 'half back, passes to centre, centre holds it, holds it... (sighs) holllds it...' But the foreign commentator is engrossed 'Half back! Passes to Centre! Centre holds it! Holds it! HOLLLLDS IT!'" says Asa Desouza.

Half-time: Tottenham 1-2 Basel

The referee brings an end to a barmy first half. That was breathtaking stuff. Spurs, who have lost Aaron Lennon to an injury, could easily be 3-0 down, are 2-1 down and should be level at 2-2. They would be but for a hilarious miss from Scott E. Parker.

45 min+1: That was truly outstanding work from Parker. You won't see many better misses than that. There will be one more minute of this. And in the final minute of the half, Dembele rides a couple of tackles and then shoots tamely at Sommer from 25 yards out when he could have played Sigurdsson in.

43 min: What a miss from Scott Parker! What a miss! Ha! Ha ha ha! Suddenly Spurs have their tails up and Sigurdsson, from left to right, pokes a pass through to the onrushing Holtby. His effort is saved by but the rebound comes to Parker with Sommer stranded. The goal is gaping and Parker is no more than six yards out - but he contrives to hit his shot against the prone Holtby's heel and the ball goes wide of the right post!

GOAL! Tottenham 1-2 Basel (Adebayor, 41 min)

It's scrappy but boy did Spurs need this. Bale cut inside from the right and hit a shot that was blocked by a Basel defender. The ball rebounded to Adebayor, who initially produced a comical air-shot. But it ran to Parker, who chested it to the left and then hooked it back into the middle. It spooned up off a Basel head and there was Adebayor to prod the ball high into the net with his right foot from six yards out. He did very well there.

40 min: "I think Basel's performance is all down to Clive Tyldsley," says Ian Copestake. "When he says "Basel" he dutifully lengthens the "a" with the result that he makes them sound like Barca." Not to mention their kit.

37 min: Basel are threatening to run away this and I must say that Stocker looks quite the talent. Streller heads a long ball into his path and he wriggles clear of awful challenges from a couple of Spurs defender to leave himself one-on-one with Friedel. He just seems to be off-balance though and ends up dinking the ball wide with his left foot. It should be 3-0. "Adebayor is about as useful upfront as the comic book guy at the moment," says Mr Dresner.

GOAL! Tottenham 0-2 Basel (Frei, 34 min)

Tottenham have no idea what's going on. Their defending was certainly clueless here. Basel won a corner on the right and Stocker sent it towards the near post. Vertonghen won the header but diverted it only to Frei, who was totally unmarked. Where were the Spurs defenders? Thinking about their favourite Simpsons episodes or something? With all the time in the world Frei simply directs his header low into the bottom-left corner.

GOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Basel (Stocker, 30 min)

Basel deserve this and it's a fine goal. Tottenham were pulled all over the place. Admittedly Stocker got a little bit of luck with the way the spin of the ball allowed him to evade Vertonghen in the middle of Tottenham's half. Suddenly Spurs were in trouble and Stocker moved it to the right for Salah, who was in space in the area. He could have shot but instead played it across to Streller. The pass was slightly behind him but he turned brilliantly past Naughton, only to shoot against the base of the left post from six yards out. A terrible miss - but it came back to Stocker and he slammed the rebound home.

28 min: A free-kick to Basel around 40 yards from goal. It's set for Schar to shoot. He doesn't score. "Seeing as how I'm stuck in a cubicle at work with no means to watch any matches today, let me just offer the Simpson's episode where Lisa becomes a vegetarian," says Daniel Stauss. "Two points: The Homer and Bart conga line to the tune of "You don't win friends with salad" and the flying pig."

26 min: Which is where the Basel fans are situated, of course. They give Holtby, who trots across to take the corner, a special reception. His delivery is poor, cleared away at the near post, but the ball falls to Naughton on the edge of the area. He volleys it back towards goal and it takes a nick off Schar, taking the ball an inch past the right post with Sommer rooted to the spot again. Holtby's corner is a waste again.

24 min: And Lennon does go off. On comes Sigurdsson. Would it be worth moving Bale to the left now? With Holtby and Sigurddson in the wide positions, Spurs are going to lack natural width and pace on the flanks. I suppose there's a big onus on the full-backs getting forward.

22 min: This is a worry for Spurs: Aaron Lennon, who missed England's recent World Cup qualifiers with an injury, is signalling to the Spurs bench that he can't continue. He's picked up some sort of knock. Gylfi Sigurdsson is going to replace him as soon as he's ready.

21 min: After a shaky 10 minutes or so, Tottenham are starting to dominant this. "To be fair, You Only Move Twice is right behind Cape Feare and we're really arguing about the shiniest diamond," says Evan Haas. "And at the risk of turning this MBM into a Simpsons quote fest (would that be so bad?), I say to you hello Mr. Thompson!"

19 min: This is better from Tottenham. Adebayor turns the ball to Holtby on the left and the German instantly knocks it across to Bale. From a standing position, he hits a shot back towards the left post with his left foot from 16 yards out but his effort goes a couple of yards wide. If it was on target, I'm not sure Sommer would have saved it as Bale hit it so sharply.

18 min: "Homer Goes To College is the best Simpsons episode, if only for the immortal "kiss my curvy butt goodbye" as he flounces out of a Physics class," says Kevin Wilson. Not forgetting the wallet inspector.

17 min: The free-kick is to the left of the D but no one else is about to hit it. But it's a surprisingly poor effort. He doesn't catch it properly and it dribbles through and a deflection off Dragovic sends it straight at Sommer.

11 min: What a minute of football this was! Somehow Spurs have emerged from it unscathed because Basel had three very good attempts on goal and failed to take any of them. With Spurs very nervy at the back, Streller is played in behind on the left. He chips a cross across the area and the unmarked Stocker waits for it to drop on to his right foot before arrowing a volley over the bar from 15 yards out. He might have done better there.

10 min: Here's the first chance of the match and it falls to Basel, who look bright and confident. On the edge of the area Streller flicks a pass into the path of Schar, whose shot from the edge of the area is patted away by Friedel. Basel stay on the attack though and quickly create an even better chance. From the left Frei sends a low cross to the near post where Streller gets in front of the dozing Gallas. He should score but again it's too close to Friedel, who parries it clear.

8 min: It's fair to say that Basel are a physical side; they're not afraid of putting it about and Tottenham haven't been able to get into their stride yet. The passing's not quite flowing yet. "The Springfield Files or The Stonecutters; both sensational pieces of television that came on the same VHS collection," says Steve Waterhouse.

7 min: Gallas is back on by the way. On the right, Lennon tries to get past Voser, who brings him down. The Basel left-back has barely played any football in the last few months and this is his first start for a long time.

5 min: Gallas is still off getting treatment. It looks like he's winded more than anything else. Parker has dropped back to centre-back for the time being. "I can remember watching 'You only Move Twice' with my brothers and instantly thinking it was the greatest ever," says Steve Roberts. "Then, about a year ago there was a poll to find the best ever episode and lo and behold, this came on top.

HANK SCORPIO Hey, look at my feet. You like those moccasins? Look in your closet; there's a pair for you. Don't like them? Then neither do I! [throws them out the door] Get the hell outta here! Ever see a guy say good-bye to a shoe?

3 min: Why hasn't Bale scored yet? "Just e-mailing in to register my vote for the episode when Sideshow Bob becomes mayor," says Richard Ensor. "On a lesser note, open wide for some soccer! Tonight's game should be something indeed. Good to see Parker(?) coming out with a good sense of perspective, prioritising the sheer glory of a European cup win over the wank of a top 4 finish. Ask history which one matters more I tell you."

2 min: Not that the Spurs fans aren't making their fair share of noise. "Naylor's situation seems rather ironically kafkaesque," notes Dan Schulwolf. "Tottenham's current predicament could also be construed as kafkaesque, especially if they fall short of winning and the EL and choke their way down to fifth place. Speaking of the great author, my German professor was astonished that I kept falling asleep during a discussion of Kafka's short story "Das Urteil (The Judgement)" this morning. I'll spare the readers and Ryan Dunne (wherever he may be) the salacious details of exactly why I was up until 3:00 am last night. Instead I'll just give my prediction: Spurs 3-1 Basel. Bale with a brace and Holtby with the other."

The teams are out and the Basel fans have a flare going. They're up for this one, then. At Stamford Bridge, I hear there are 12 Rubin Kazan fans. "By noting how Sigurdsson's improved, I think you inadvertently answered the question regarding why Holtby's been brought over already he's not going to play much: it's so that he can hit the ground running at the start of the next season, and avoid the start that Sigurdsson had to this season," says John T.

"The day is already won before kickoff with an outstanding Simpsons reference from, in my opinion, its very best episode," says Evan Haas. A big call from Evan there. It's a great episode - but is it the best? There, riff sorted.

I like the one where Homer becomes a teacher. Plus the Monorail. Mono!

"Good to see Lewis Holtby given a rare start," says Steve Roberts. "It seems strange that Spurs made the effort of bringing his transfer forward from the summer and then proceed to give him the square root of substantially little playing time. Is he just being bedded in slowly or is there only room in the team for one haircut?"

I suspect we'll probably see the best of him next season; Gylfi Sigurdsson has been playing well recently.

If you were wondering about Gary Naylor's current location, wonder no more. "I'm in a disused warehouse on Trinity Buoy Wharf for a 50s themed immersive theatre adaptation of a Kafka story. It's quite astonishingly cold. I'd rather be at White Hart Lane really."

Preamble

Evening. Danny Blanchflower's footballing philosophy is well known but that doesn't mean it's not worth repeating every now and then. “The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning," said Blanchflower. "It’s nothing of the kind. The game is about glory. It is about doing things in style, with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.” Now, you can argue the toss about whether or not this current Tottenham side is the easiest on the eye – they certainly have their problems against sides who merely sit back. But you cannot accuse Andre Villas-Boas of failing to understand Blanchflower's point about glory; sure, Tottenham have a battle on their hands to finish in the top four, but no one's going to remember it in 10 years if they pull it off. Spurs fans will remember it for ever if they win the Europa League.

Thursday nights, ITV4. On the surface, they're not so appealing. That's a slot usually reserved for another airing of one of the Bourne films. Yet while this is an unloved competition for some, especially in this country, Villas-Boas has embraced it, always playing his strongest side and possibly compromising Tottenham's charge for Champions League qualification. But isn't that what's it all about? Isn't that what we're here for? Fourth place isn't a trophy. A European trophy is a trophy and Spurs are five games away from winning one for the first time since 1984. Villas-Boas won the Europa League with Porto two years ago and he wants it again. So, sure, Tottenham have a big league match against Everton on Sunday. But surely this is bigger.

Admittedly Tottenham's last European quarter-final was a bit more glamorous than this. Then it was a last-eight encounter with Real Madrid in the Champions League two years ago, a tie that Spurs lost 5-0 on aggregate, and this is a Europa League quarter-final against FC Basel. Of all the sides left in the competition, the Swiss side, who did stun Manchester United in the Champions League last season, are arguably the weakest. They are three points clear at the top of the Swiss league, have kept five clean sheets in their last seven matches and produced an impressive performance to beat Zenit St Petersburg in the last round, but it would still be a major surprise if Spurs fail to win this Christian Gross Derby. Although they are Spurs. That is kind of their forte, even if they do have Gareth Bale. Ah yes, they have Gareth Bale. Spurs win.